Tag Archives: Information technology

Universal-Investment acquires B2B online investment platform CAPinside

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Montagu

  • CAPinside offers a digital, artificial intelligence-based B2B portfolio for networking intermediaries such as IFAs with asset managers and fund initiators
  • The takeover is an important building block for Universal-Investment for offering fund initiators a wider range of distribution options for all customer groups and asset classes

Montagu portfolio company The Universal-Investment Group (“Universal-Investment”) has acquired CAPinside GmbH. CAPinside was formed in October 2018 and employs around 40 staff at its head office in Hamburg.

CAPinside is key to the success of Universal-Investment’s digitalisation and innovation plans and we are delighted to be jointly setting new standards for our customers.

Michael Reinhard, CEO, Universal-Investment

CAPinside is a B2B online investment platform for the investment market, focussing on fund marketing and sales initiation. It brings together intermediaries, in particular IFAs, with asset managers and fund initiators through algorithms generated using artificial intelligence, via high quality content and investment analyses as well as data-driven bespoke matching.

With around 90,000 users per month and almost 20,000 members, CAPinside is the fastest growing professional online investment platform in the German-speaking region and market leader in Germany. CAPinside is further diversifying its spectrum with future-orientated investment managers offering Blockchain-based investments.

Fund initiators benefit from the advancement to a comprehensive sales platform

“With CAPinside, Universal-Investment is further diversifying its distribution portfolio for fund initiators and managers. Over the coming months, we will also be investing heavily to offer our fund initiators distribution and cooperation possibilities; in this way, promising fund concepts will be able reach a wide range of investor groups,” says Katja Müller, Chief Customer Officer at Universal-Investment.

The acquisition is a key digital building block in creating a comprehensive, analogue and technological “single stop distribution platform” across all channels for every target group. It follows Universal-Investment’s takeover of labs, the IT data specialist and vendor of front office solutions for asset managers, in early 2019, which continues the company’s goal of becoming the leading European fund service platform and management company for all asset classes by 2023.

Michael Reinhard, CEO of Universal-Investment, explains: “Being able to reach investors online with digital formats and offerings, and with pinpoint accuracy, is becoming increasingly important in the fund industry. Asset managers and fund initiators are shifting unambiguously to distribution channels based on online platform offerings – with irrefutable benefits: precise segmentation of target groups and needs, measurability, 24/7 accessibility and lower costs. CAPinside is key to the success of our digitalisation and innovation plans and we are delighted to be jointly setting new standards for our customers.“

Philipp Schröder, founder and CEO of CAPinside says: “CAPinside is an example of how, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, intelligent, digital business models can grow significantly in less than two years, thereby generating added value for clients, users and fintech investors. Universal-Investment’s takeover allows us to make further investments to drive our expansive growth and benefit from the international fund service platform’s experience. CAPinside will continue to be an open platform for all asset managers.“

Besides the founders Philipp Schröder and Achim Denkel, a third managing director, Micha Grüber, will also remain at the helm and CAPinside will continue to operate as an independent brand. Dr. Jürgen Sehnert, Head of Strategy and Product Governance at Universal-Investment, will be appointed as an additional managing director to support the joint growth plans.

Montagu invested in Universal-Investment in 2017 and continues to support the company’s ambitious growth plans. In the past year, Universal-Investment has increased its assets under administration by €90bn to over €500bn.

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EQT VII to sell global enterprise software provider IFS to successor funds and TA Associates

eqt

  • EQT VII to sell IFS, the leading global enterprise software provider that enables businesses to digitalize their core operations, to successor funds and TA Associates for a transaction value in excess of EUR 3 billion
  • During EQT VII’s ownership, IFS has grown into the global leader within Field Service Management software by focused investments into the product and the organization as well as targeted add-on acquisitions
  • Under EQT VII’s tenure, IFS’ revenues have doubled to SEK 7.3 billion, EBITDA has quadrupled, and the employee base has increased by 50 percent

The EQT VII fund (“EQT VII”) today announced that it has agreed to sell IFS AB (“IFS” or “the Company”) to the successor funds EQT VIII and EQT IX, and global growth private equity firm, TA Associates, which becomes a minority partner at a transaction value in excess of EUR 3 billion.

Founded in 1983, IFS is the leading provider of Field Service Management (FSM) software and is recognized for its vertically-aligned Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software solutions. IFS is a key enabler for digitalizing core operations while contributing to more efficient use of resources and assets across its customers’ value chain. The Company serves more than 10,000 customers globally, reaching more than one million users.

Together with the management team and the board of directors, EQT VII has supported IFS on an accelerated growth journey, resulting in a doubling of revenues to SEK 7.3 billion, a quadrupling of EBITDA and a 50 percent increase of the employee base over the holding period. With EQT VII’s support, IFS has also made multiple add-on acquisitions (including WorkWave and Astea) which, combined with the organic growth and investment in the Company’s product offering, has strengthened IFS’ leading position within FSM.

Robert Maclean, Partner at EQT Partners, said: “When EQT VII acquired IFS in 2015, it was a well-performing business supported by strong macro trends with significant opportunities to further accelerate growth. Today, IFS is trailblazing the enterprise software space and we have been incredibly impressed by IFS’ ability to consistently outperform their fast-growing market.”

Per Franzén, Partner at EQT Partners and Co-Head of Private Equity, added: “We are impressed by how well IFS has developed over the past few years. Today, IFS is a true leader in its verticals, and IFS’ solutions are globally recognized for helping businesses stay ahead of the curve when it comes to digitalization. IFS is another great example of EQT future proofing businesses and the management team, led by CEO Darren Roos, has done an excellent job strengthening IFS’ position across its core verticals transforming the organization into a global enterprise software company.”

Darren Roos, CEO of IFS, said: “The IFS and EQT VII partnership has been excellent. EQT’s expertise within software and digitalization has played a critical role in supporting IFS on our growth journey. We look forward to continuing our development journey together with EQT and TA Associates.”

Over the years, IFS has made significant investments into its development hubs in Sri Lanka where it is now the country’s second largest technology employer. In 2019, IFS also established the IFS Foundation with the aim of supporting local communities and breaking the poverty cycle in Sri Lanka.

IFS’ sister-company Acumatica will not be sold as part of the transaction and will remain an EQT VII investment.

Goldman Sachs and Jefferies acted as financial advisors to EQT VII, and Arma Partners acted as financial advisor to TA Associates.

Contact
Robert Maclean, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT VII, +44 7384 25 9995
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

About EQT
EQT is a differentiated global investment organization with more than EUR 62 billion in raised capital and around EUR 40 billion in assets under management across 19 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America with total sales of more than EUR 27 billion and approximately 159,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtgroup.com
Follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

About IFS
IFS develops and delivers enterprise software for customers around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. The industry expertise of IFS’ people and solutions, has made IFS a recognized leader and the most recommended supplier in IFS’ core verticals. The IFS team of 4,000 employees and a growing ecosystem of partners support more than 10,000 customers around the world challenge the status quo and realize their competitive advantage.

More info: www.ifs.com

About TA Associates
TA Associates is a leading global growth private equity firm. Focused on targeted sectors within five industries – technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services – TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth, and has invested in more than 500 companies around the world. Investing as either a majority or minority investor, TA employs a long-term approach, utilizing its strategic resources to help management teams build lasting value in high quality growth companies. TA has raised $33.5 billion in capital since its founding in 1968 and is committing to new investments at the pace of over $2 billion per year. The firm’s more than 85 investment professionals are based in Boston, Menlo Park, London, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

More info: www.ta.com

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Pricefx raises $65 million for global expansion and product innovation in Series C financing round led by the Apax Digital Fund

Apax Digital

14 July 2020

Increasing adoption of pricing software has fueled Pricefx’s growth as companies look for ways to increase revenue and profit during the global economic slowdown and beyond

CHICAGO, MUNICH and PRAGUE – July 14, 2020: Pricefx, the global leader in cloud-native pricing software, today announced it has received $65 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total raised to date to $130 million. The round was led by funds advised by Apax Digital, the growth equity team of Apax Partners, with participation from existing investor Digital+ Partners. Pricefx will use the new funding to expand and solidify its global market leadership position as the only true SaaS platform in the pricing industry, accelerate product innovation, extend its partner ecosystem, and evaluate strategic acquisitions.

SaaS solutions have faced increased demand since pandemic measures forced companies to rapidly and radically address digital transformation initiatives. Pricing software, in particular, has seen a tremendous surge in interest owing to the strong return on investment, even in downturns. As a result, Pricefx has signed more than a dozen new customer deals since March of this year.

“Pricing is being recognized as a critical competency for global enterprises and Pricefx is leading the way for a SaaS-based approach,” said Marcin Cichon, CEO and co-founder of Pricefx. “This investment from Apax confirms Pricefx’s resilience, ability to grow its customer base, and innovate – even during challenging times. This investment will further power our global commercial strategy and aggressive product innovation, by attracting critical talent, expanding our growing ecosystem of partners, and enabling further potential strategic acquisitions – all in pursuit of our mission to bring pricing solutions to as many companies as we can, as simply and effectively as possible.”

Pricefx provides a suite of cloud-based pricing software tools – from Price Optimization, Management (PO&M) to Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ) – for B2B and B2C enterprises of all sizes. Additionally, the company launched the first “6 weeks to live” activation accelerator with Lightning, delivering industry-leading time-to-value. The company has supported its clients through the COVID-19 crisis with initiatives such as providing access to its Sales Insights solution free of charge. In May, Pricefx acquired French market leader Brennus Analytics, which brought industry-leading AI capabilities in pricing optimization and Pricefx’s Optimized Dynamic Pricing solution was recently named an SAP endorsed app.

“Pricing is one of the most important value creation levers for businesses, and we share Pricefx’s passion for making pricing software easier, faster and more accessible,” said Mark Beith, Partner of Apax Digital. “Companies are abandoning inefficient manual processes, disparate spreadsheets, and sub-optimal prices, and embracing Pricefx’s next-gen software, which dynamically manages, optimizes and updates prices across all channels.”

“We are thrilled to join Marcin and the whole Pricefx family on their mission to democratize pricing software and deliver best-in-class time to value and exceptional return on investment to their customers,” said Daniel O’Keefe, Managing Partner of Apax Digital.

Concurrent with this investment, Beith and O’Keefe will join Pricefx’s supervisory board.

“We are excited and proud to continue supporting the Pricefx team on their global growth journey. Pricefx demonstrates a relentless drive towards product innovation and customer success and we believe that they are well on-track to build the undisputed global category leader in pricing software,” said Axel Krieger, Founding Partner at Digital+ Partners.

Pricefx was recently named a finalist in Ventana’s 13th Annual Digital Innovation Awards. These awards identify the top technologies that have the most striking impact in their respective markets, recognizing pioneering vendors that contribute advancements in technology, drive change and increase value for organizations worldwide. The company has several disruptive innovations coming this year, including a self-service version of its analytics software, industry-specific Accelerator packages, enhanced CPQ functionality, and an AI-enhanced upgraded version of its PriceOptimizer product.

About Apax Digital

The Apax Digital Fund specializes in growth equity and buyout investments in high-growth enterprise software, consumer internet, and technology-enabled services companies worldwide. The Apax Digital team leverages Apax Partners’ deep tech investing expertise, global platform, and specialized operating experts, to enable technology companies and their management teams to accelerate the achievement of their full potential. For further information, please visit: www.apax.com/digital.

Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.$50 billion. These funds provide long-term equity financing to build and strengthen world-class companies. For more information see: www.apax.com.

About Digital+ Partners

Digital+ Partners is a leading technology growth equity investor focused on European and US technology companies with €350 million assets under management. Digital+ aims to support ambitious entrepreneurs build global technology leaders, providing them with strategic advice and long-term financial support to help them define and execute their growth plans. The fund focuses exclusively on B2B technology investments and leverages a deep corporate network to help portfolio companies access new markets and build new partnerships. For more information please visit: www.dplus.partners.

About Pricefx

Established in 2011 in Germany, Pricefx is the global leader in SaaS pricing software, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions that are fast to implement, flexible to configure and customize, and friendly to learn and use. Pricefx delivers a complete price optimization and management platform based on native cloud architecture, providing industry leading time to value and total cost of ownership advantages to customers. Its innovative solution works for both B2B and B2C enterprises of any size, in any industry, in any part of the world. Pricefx’s business model is entirely based on the satisfaction and loyalty of its customers. Pricefx delivers Passion for Pricing. For more information, please visit www.pricefx.com.

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Media Contacts

For Pricefx

Cathy Summers, Summers PR | +1 (415) 483-0480 |cathy@summers-pr.com

For Apax Digital / Apax Partners

Global Media: Matthew Goodman / James Madsen, Greenbrook | +44 20 7952 2000 | apax@greenbrookpr.com

USA Media: Todd Fogarty, Kekst CNC | +1 212‐521 4854 | todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com

Notes to Editors:

London-headquartered Apax Partners (www.apax.com) and Paris-headquartered Apax Partners (www.apax.fr) had a shared history but are separate, independent private equity firms.

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Nordic Capital selects Capgemini to help drive AI and Machine Learning for its portfolio companies

Nordic Capital

July 13 2020

Capgemini and Nordic Capital join forces to provide a platform to accelerate the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine learning as value drivers within Nordic Capital’s portfolio companies.

Nordic Capital sees AI and Machine Learning as important technologies to accelerate automation and data insights across all industries. By working with Capgemini, Nordic Capital is implementing global access to a program which provides its portfolio companies with experts and knowledge to support and accelerate their AI journeys and maturity.

Capgemini is at the forefront of innovation, addressing the entire breadth of companies’ opportunities in an evolving world of cloud, digital and platforms. It has a broad offering of services to industrialize AI and machine learning, helping organizations scale for maximum impact and accelerate AI-infused transformation to realize sustainable and trusted business performance. By leveraging the power of AI and machine learning, Capgemini has helped its clients to grow and improve.

“The partnership with Capgemini is an investment in Nordic Capital’s portfolio company Digitalization Toolbox and demonstrates Nordic Capital’s commitment to drive digital and AI-infused transformation, embracing the technological developments within its portfolio companies. This is another great example of Nordic Capital’s focus on Ownership Excellence, as we, together with Capgemini, can provide a unique combination of the best AI knowledge and business implementation services to Nordic Capital’s portfolio companies”, says Olof Faxander, Operating Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors.

“Nordic Capital is a landmark new client for Capgemini. We look forward to an active relationship and close collaboration where our deep domain expertise, wide range of accelerators in our Perform AI portfolio and strong team of data science professionals will contribute to the value creation of Nordic Capital’s portfolio companies,” says Kevin Jiang, Head of Insight Driven Enterprise practice at Capgemini Invent Sweden-Finland.

To kickstart this relationship, Capgemini has supported one of Nordic Capital’s portfolio companies in the Technology & Payments sector to utilize advanced machine learning algorithms that is anticipated to generate significant additional revenue. Discussions on how AI could support in value creation are being carried out with portfolio companies across all sectors.

 

Media contacts:

Nordic Capital

Katarina Janerud, Communications Manager
Nordic Capital Advisors
Tel: +46 8 440 50 50
e-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

 

Capgemini

Gunilla Resare
Tel.:+ 47 450 02 542
e-mail: gunilla.resare@capgemini.com

 

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Core sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 14.5 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

 

About Capgemini

Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, digital transformation, technology and engineering services. The Group is at the forefront of innovation to address the entire breadth of clients’ opportunities in the evolving world of cloud, digital and platforms. Building on its strong 50-year+ heritage and deep industry-specific expertise, Capgemini enables organisations to realise their business ambitions through an array of services from strategy to operations. Capgemini is driven by the conviction that the business value of technology comes from and through people. Today, it is a multicultural company of 270,000 team members in almost 50 countries. With Altran, the Group reported 2019 combined revenues of EUR 17 billion. Visit us at www.capgemini.com.

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Amsterdam based THEYDO receives €400.000 seed round

Arches Capital

TheyDo.io the platform for digital design thinking announced today that it has raised €400.000 in seed funding, led by Arches Capital.

TheyDo accelerates innovation with an online platform to support proven methods like customer journey mapping and Design Thinking. By managing innovation online, insights become available to everyone in the organization and allow teams to collaborate online and remotely. TheyDo shortens go-to-market time significantly and ties customer needs to business goals. With their mission to make every business process customer-centric, TheyDo is on the road to becoming the go-to platform for innovation.

Most organizations already know customer-centricity leads to better results and cuts cost in the long run, but at the same time they struggle to implement working processes outside the creative workshop. With TheyDo it becomes possible to share knowledge from qualitative research, creative workshops, and customer journeys, by managing everything in one place.

Jochem van der Veer, Co-Founder of TheyDo

 

The capital raise is used to rollout the customer-centric transformation program, the company developed for larger organizations. The program is designed to train multidisciplinary teams, help them to produce real results, and then scale up the process, transforming the whole organization towards working customer-centric.

This summer, the team will also release live collaboration features, designed to create an environment where multiple teams can work together in the same customer journey, live and cloud-based. Something today is only possible in (digital) whiteboard sessions. It will enable designers, marketers, managers, and executives to collaborate on improving the end-to-end customer experience while delivering on business KPI’s.

Ruben Meiland, founder of Ticketscript and ex VP of Product at Eventbrite will join the board of directors on behalf of Arches Capital. Amongst investors, Pieter Omvlee, Founder of Sketch is actively involved in the development of the platform.

Earlier this month TheyDo launched its Enterprise transformation program. For smaller organizations, a digital version will be rolled out over the coming months so every company can start working customer-centric.

About TheyDo
TheyDo is a CX platform to bring customer-centricity into the heart of every business process. What started with the insight to scale Design Thinking outside the creative workshop, is now a platform to integrate customer-centricity as an end-to-end business process. TheyDo offers a complete solution by combining her software with a transformation program, led by its certfified Design Thinking coaches.

For more information see www.theydo.io

About Arches Capital
Arches Capital, a fast-growing group of business angels, invests in startup and scale-up companies with a large growth potential. Through its investments, Arches Capital bridges the gap between formal investors (VCs) and informal investors (business angels), by joining the best of both worlds:

“ We source, select and invest like a VC;
We engage, care and inspire as the angel we are. ”

By bundling smart capital (combining funding with real business knowledge and experience) with true engagement (actively working together to achieve growth), we are able to ignite early stage companies achieve above-average growth. Arches Capital distinguishes itself from other angel networks by its active support to angels building a broad and professional investment portfolio, co-investment from Arches Capital in each deal and the unique distribution of proceeds amongst its members.

For more information, visit www.arches.capital

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bp invests $5 million in geospatial analytics company Satelytics

BP Ventures

  • Firm uses machine learning and spectral imagery to monitor environment.
  • Technology combines data from satellites, drones and planes.
  • Part of bp’s strategy to deploy a suite of complementary methane detecting techniques across new and existing facilities.

bp ventures invests in Satelytics

bp ventures has invested $5 million in Satelytics, a cloud-based geospatial analytics software company that uses advanced spectral imagery and machine learning to monitor environmental changes, including methane emissions.

 

Satelytics collects high resolution spectral imagery from the planet’s surface using satellites, drones, and planes. Its technology combines these images with proprietary algorithms to create unique electromagnetic signatures that can be used to detect environmental changes, including releases or leaks. Its software visualises these data sets on interactive displays that give end-users a clear and actionable picture of operations, and alert them to facility risks, like methane leaks.

 

bp’s $5 million investment will enable Satelytics to develop its technology further and scale its applications throughout the oil and gas sector. Use of the technology has the potential to be part of bp’s aim to install methane measurement at all major oil and gas processing sites by 2023, publish the data and then drive a 50% reduction in methane intensity of its operations.

 

Morag Watson, bp senior vice president of digital science and engineering, said: “Satelytics is modernising the energy sector by making data about physical assets more accessible and digestible, leading to better decision making. We are excited to work closely alongside their unique team of scientists and technologists to help them evolve their technology and to continue to move the needle on industry digitalisation.”

 

Sean Donegan, chief executive of Satelytics, said: “bp’s early use of our detection and quantification software has inspired us to expand our capabilities. bp’s investment marks an inflexion point for Satelytics, which will assist us in expanding our technological capabilities and fuel future innovation.”

 

Through its venturing business, bp is making strategic investments in innovative, game-changing technologies and businesses that can help it reimagine the global energy system.

 

David Hayes, bp ventures managing director for the Americas and chief operating officer, said: “Earlier this year we announced our ambition to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner, and to help the world get to net zero. As part of our ambition, one of our 10 aims relates to methane measurement at all of our major oil and gas processing sites by 2023 and reducing methane intensity of our operations by 50%. Advanced technologies such as Satelytics, integrating multiple approaches to efficiently detect emissions, have the potential to be a valuable tool that can support this work.”

Notes to editors

About Satelytics:

 

  • Satelytics Inc., is a cloud-based geospatial analytics software suite.
  • Multi or hyper-spectral imagery is gathered from satellites, UAV, planes, and fixed cameras, and processed to provide both alerts and qualitative results for our customers.
  • Data can be gathered on up to a daily basis and results sent to customers in hours.
  • This includes the specific problem, location, magnitude, and even qualitative information, which minimize cost, impact, and operational disruption for clients.

About bp ventures:

 

  • bp ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum. Since then, bp has invested almost $700 million in technology companies across more than 31 active investments with more than 250 co-investors.
  • Venturing plays a key role in bp’s strategy to tackle the dual challenge of meeting the world’s need for more energy, while at the same time reducing carbon emissions.
  • bp ventures focuses on connecting and growing new energy business. It makes strategic equity investments across a portfolio of relevant technology businesses including advanced mobility, low carbon and digital.
  • For more information visit: bp.com/ventures.
  • Shaun Healey, bp ventures Principal, will take up a director seat on the board of Satelytics.

Further information

Contacts

bp press office, London: +44 (0)20 7496 4076, bppress@bp.com

Kekst CNC, London: +44 (0)20 3755 1630, bpventures@kekstcnc.com

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Evernex announces the acquisition of Technogroup and creates a global leader in data centre equipment maintenance

3I

3i-backed Evernex, a global international provider of third-party maintenance (“TPM”) services for data centre infrastructure in which 3i invested in October 2019, announces the acquisition of Technogroup, the leading TPM player in the DACH region.

As part of the transaction, Technogroup’s management and its shareholder Vitruvian Partners, a leading growth equity firm with a global presence, will roll over a significant investment into the combined group. 3i will invest €47m of additional capital to finance the transaction, with Evernex’s management team also reinvesting €2m. The transaction remains subject to clearance from the relevant antitrust authorities.

Headquartered in Hochheim, near Frankfurt, Germany, Technogroup was founded in 1990 and is the leading TPM player in the DACH region and Poland, with strong brand recognition, best-in-class service, valued expertise in data centre maintenance and value-add services for data centres. The company serves over 5,200 customers with 290 employees and over 50 service centres in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. Technogroup has quadrupled in size over the past ten years through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions.

With Technogroup, Evernex reinforces its presence in the DACH and Central Europe with a highly reputable team. The combined group will be uniquely positioned to assist its customers providing a single point of contact on a truly global basis in data centre maintenance services, with an especially strong footprint across Europe, Latin America and MEA.

Rémi Carnimolla, Partner, at 3i France: “With the acquisition of Technogroup, Evernex reinforces its status as a successful consolidation platform. This is already the second acquisition since October 2019 following Storex in South Africa four months ago.”

Frédéric Chiche, Director, and Marc Ohayon, Associate Director: “In the context of the COVID19 pandemic and tight lockdowns in both France and Germany, we are proud of having achieved this transaction. It is a significant step up to leadership in the sector and a transformative event in the TPM space.”

Stanislas Pilot, President and CEO of Evernex: “This combination offers fantastic growth prospects. Thanks to the backing of the 3i balance sheet and the strong performance of Evernex during the current pandemic, confirming the high resilience of the company’s business, and to Vitruvian Partners’ significant rollover alongside us, the new group will have unique capabilities to enter new markets and better serve its international clients and OEM partners. We are excited to welcome the Technogroup team to the Evernex family and we are confident in both teams’ commitment to excellence in building a solidly integrated group, providing best-in-class services for our customers.”

Torsten Winkler, Partner, and Fabian Wasmus, Partner, at Vitruvian: “When Vitruvian invested in Technogroup in December 2017, the business had great fundamentals and double-digit growth. With our backing, the company established itself as one of the European champions in TPM services, notably with three acquisitions that expanded the group’s geographic presence and equipment expertise. We are convinced that joining forces with Evernex will bring tremendous value to both companies and help build a true global leader.”

Klaus Stöckert, CEO of Technogroup: “The fit between Technogroup and Evernex is strong, both in terms of strategic sense and common DNA between our teams. We are aligned in the strategic ambition to be the single point of contact for our customers and partners. By joining forces, we will be able to assist our customers in more geographies thanks to Evernex’s global footprint and by offering more equipment expertise. Our teams have known each other for years. We are excited by this opportunity to join Evernex and to do much more together in the same group.”

3i invested in Evernex in October 2019. Headquartered in Paris, France, Evernex maintains over 200,000 IT systems in c. 160 countries, and has a global network of 34 offices. It is the preferred maintenance partner for multinational companies and has developed a multi-channel and multi-vendor flexible offering. In March 2020, Evernex acquired Storex, a South African provider of maintenance services for critical data centre equipment, thus reinforcing its leadership in MEA.

-Ends-

Download the press release  

 

For further information, contact: 

3i Group plc

Silvia Santoro

Investor enquiries

 Tel: +44 20 7975 3258

Email: silvia.santoro@3i.com
Kathryn van der Kroft

Media enquiries

 Tel: +44 20 7975 3021

Email: kathryn.vanderkroft@3i.com

 

Notes to editors:

About 3i Group

3i is an investment company with two complementary businesses, Private Equity and Infrastructure, specialising in core investment markets in Northern Europe and North America.

3i’s Private Equity team provides investment solutions for growing companies, backing entrepreneurs and management teams of mid-market companies with an EV typically between €100m – €500m. We back international growth plans, providing access to our network and expertise to accelerate the growth of companies across the consumer, industrial, healthcare and business and technology services industries.

For further information, please visit: www.3i.com

 

Regulatory information

This transaction involved a recommendation of 3i Investments plc, advised by 3i France.

evernex-logo.png

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Fortino Capital Partners invests in Sigma Conso to accelerate growth of this Corporate Performance Management software player

Fortino Capital

BRUSSELS, 17 June 2020 – Fortino Capital Partners, a Benelux-based growth equity investor in software, today announces its investment in Sigma Conso, a fast growing Corporate Performance Management software provider. Sigma Conso, headquartered in Brussels, employs over 40 FTEs and has local offices in Western-Europe and Asia serving over 600 customers.

Initially focused on consolidation software, today Sigma Conso addresses all needs of CFO in terms of Corporate Performance Management (i.e., consolidation, intercompany reconciliations, budgeting, planning, and management reporting). Along with its software offering, Sigma Conso differentiates itself through its deep financial expertise, offering training and advisory services to its customers. Sigma Conso helps out customers to generate transparency on the performance of its business, more than ever a must in these Covid-19 times.

Sigma Conso is active in 20 countries, serving over 600 customers, varying from mid-sized businesses to large companies (e.g., D’Ieteren, Sofina, Proximus, Besix,, Umicore, Eiffage and CMB).

Dominique Galloy came on board as CEO and owner in 2006. Over the last 14 years Dominique has grown Sigma Conso together with his team into an international and highly recognised software company.

Fortino Capital recognizes Sigma Conso’s leading role in the Corporate Performance Management market and the credentials the team has built up. Financial software is a core segment for Fortino Capital as B2B software investor, after its investment into MobileXpense, a leading European expense management provider.

Fortino Capital acquires Sigma Conso alongside management to further grow and expand the company internationally. This is the 20th B2B software investment by Fortino Capital, and the 6th platform investment of its Growth Private Equity Fund I.

Dominique Galloy, CEO of Sigma Conso: “Over the past two decades, we have become a sizeable European player by serving our customers with great software and deep expertise. Together with Fortino Capital, a real expert in B2B software, we are now ready for an accelerated growth phase together. I am personally very excited about the prospects of the business. With the support of Fortino Capital, I am committed to further serve our customers in a great way.”

Filip Van Innis, Investment Director at Fortino Capital: “We are impressed by Sigma Conso’s strong track record. Being a company at the core of our Growth Fund strategy, i.e., mission critical software in an expanding market, we are delighted to support Dominique and his team going forward. As much as we are pleased to welcome Patrick Van Deven, as Chairman of the Board. Patrick is a seasoned software executive who made his career at both SAS and SAP.”

About Sigma Conso

Sigma Conso, founded in 2002, provides Corporate Performance Management software together with training and advisory services. The Company has a global presence, evidenced by its diversified customer base in 20 countries and local offices in Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.sigmaconso.com.

About Fortino Capital Partners

Fortino Capital Partners is a European enterprise software investor, managing a €240m growth private equity fund and two venture capital funds for earlier stage software opportunities.  The firm has offices in Antwerp and Amsterdam. Fortino Capital’s investment portfolio includes MobileXpense, Efficy CRM, Odin Groep, Tenzinger, Maxxton, LetsBuild, Teamleader, among others. For more information, please visit
www.fortinocapital.com.

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Duck Creek Technologies receives $230 million investment from new investors Kayne Anderson Rudnick, Whale Rock, and prior investors

Apax

New funding will drive further expansion of the market-leading SaaS solution for P&C insurance, Duck Creek OnDemand

Boston – June 10, 2020: Duck Creek Technologies, a provider of SaaS-delivered enterprise software to the property & casualty insurance industry, announced today that leading investment firms Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management and Whale Rock Capital Management, along with prior investors, have invested $230 million in the company.

The Duck Creek Suite of SaaS solutions provides insurance carriers open and highly-configurable applications across core areas of their businesses, such as policy administration, billing, claims, analytics, industry content, distribution management, and reinsurance management – all key to their digital transformations. Duck Creek OnDemand is the leading SaaS core system solution for the P&C Industry.

Duck Creek will use the proceeds for continued investment into its business growth, with a focus on extending the capabilities of the company’s SaaS solutions, and to repurchase equity from certain existing investors. The new commitment of capital comes as the company continues to invest heavily in product development and international expansion.

Funds advised by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management and Whale Rock Capital Management join existing investors in Duck Creek including Dragoneer Investment Group, Insight Partners, funds and other accounts advised by Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC, and Temasek. Funds advised by Apax Partners acquired a majority stake in Duck Creek in 2016 from Accenture. Accenture remains a key investor in Duck Creek.

“The partnership of these new investors with Duck Creek speaks to the momentum we have achieved as the SaaS leader in P&C core systems and the opportunities we see ahead,” said Michael Jackowski, Duck Creek’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our Platform’s performance, particularly during these recent months, has shown the industry that SaaS can deliver new levels of value. We see growing opportunity for Duck Creek as more insurers accelerate their adoption of SaaS solutions for their core systems.”

“Duck Creek’s growth has continued throughout 2020 and we remain excited about the long-term prospects for the company and its plan to continue to invest in products and people,” said Jason Wright, Partner at Apax Partners. “We are proud of our partnership with Mike Jackowski and the Duck Creek team and are pleased to welcome Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management and Whale Rock Capital Management as additional investors to support the company’s growth strategy.”

J.P. Morgan served as sole placement agent to Duck Creek in connection with this transaction.

This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute, or form a part of, an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

Contact:

Sam A. Shay
Duck Creek Technologies
sam.shay@duckcreek.com
+1.857.201.5784

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Nordic Capital-backed Trustly announces strategic minority investment by a consortium of investors to support further expansion

Nordic Capital

JUNE 10 2020
Nordic Capital-backed Trustly announces strategic minority investment by a consortium of investors to support further expansion Image

BlackRock Private Equity Partners, through its private equity funds and accounts under management, together with a consortium of institutional investors, including among others, Aberdeen Standard Investments, funds managed by Neuberger Berman, Investment Corporation of Dubai and RSIC, are becoming minority shareholders in Trustly, the world’s leading online account-to-account (A2A) payments provider. Nordic Capital remains the majority shareholder in Trustly.

The transaction diversifies Trustly’s shareholder base and brings in additional long-term capital commitment to further support Trustly as it continues to invest in its products and infrastructure and expand globally.

Nordic Capital announced the acquisition of Trustly in March 2018 with the aim of supporting the expansion of the business internationally.

Oscar Berglund, CEO of Trustly, says: “At Trustly, we’re leveraging local bank-to-bank payment rails to build a global online banking payments network that enables people to pay directly from their bank accounts in a safe and convenient manner. We welcome BlackRock and the other investors as minority shareholders in Trustly. With their support, we will double-down on developing the online banking payments solution that our merchants and billers and their customers love.”

Fredrik Näslund, Partner at Nordic Capital Advisors, says: “It is a testament to Trustly’s amazing success that Nordic Capital is able to attract such a consortium of world-class investors. Nordic Capital welcomes our new partners as co-investors and looks forward to continuing a successful journey with Trustly.”

Citigroup Global Markets Limited acted as financial advisor in connection with this transaction.

Press contact:

Meredith Popolo
Head of PR & Communications at Trustly
meredith.popolo@trustly.com

 

About Trustly

Founded in 2008, Trustly is the global leader in Online Banking Payments. Our account-to-account network enables consumers to make fast, simple and secure payments to merchants directly from their online banking accounts, without going through the card networks. With support for more than 6,000 banks, over 600 million consumers across Europe and North America can pay with Trustly. We serve many of the world’s most prominent merchants within e-commerce, financial services, gaming, media, telecom and travel, which all benefit from increased consumer conversion and reduced operations, fraud and chargeback costs.

Trustly has 400 employees across Europe, the US and Latin America. We are a licensed Payment Institution under the second payment services directive (PSD2) and operate under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in Europe. In the US, we are state regulated as required to serve our target markets. Read more at www.trustly.com.

 

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services and in addition, Industrials & Business Services. Key regions are Northern Europe and globally for Healthcare. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested more than EUR 14 billion in over 110 investments. The Nordic Capital vehicles are based in Jersey. They are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities based in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the UK and the US, any or all of which are referred to as Nordic Capital Advisors. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com.

 

About BlackRock Private Equity Partners

BlackRock Private Equity Partners is the world’s largest asset management firm and had USD 5.98 trillion of assets under management at December 31, 2018. With approximately 14,900 employees in more than 30 countries who serve clients in over 100 countries across the globe, BlackRock provides a broad range of investment and technology services to institutional and retail clients worldwide. For further information about BlackRock, please visit www.blackrock.com.

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